First Win From the Pole – Daytona 500 – Pontiac

04/27/2017 – As we continue – by chance – the theme of pole winners, the Daytona 500, and Fireball Roberts…

Winning the Daytona 500 from the pole is a rare accomplishment and the short list of those who have done so reveals no lucky drivers, but several of the great Cup drivers in history who left their mark(s) on the sport –

• 1962 – Fireball Roberts
• 1966 – Richard Petty
• 1968, 1984 – Cale Yarborough
• 1980 – Buddy Baker
• 1985, 1987 – Bill Elliott
• 1999 – Jeff Gordon
• 2000 – Dale Jarrett

We obviously see that Fireball Roberts was the first driver to accomplish this as he dominated the 1962 race driving Jim Stephens’s 1962 Stephens Pontiac Catalina, leading 144 of 200 laps and leaving his closest competitor – Richard Petty, and the only other finisher on the lead lap – 27 seconds behind.

Fireball Roberts in his Pontiac pours it on, putting Fred Lorenzen in a Holman-Moody Ford a lap down.